Recent Posts

1

General Technical Chat / Re: Why suffer a Farington ? (Maybe because I'm a Farington, also)

« Last post by pcprogrammer on Today at 05:29:23 am »

Claiming social skills are something everyone can learn is like saying even blind people can learn to see: echolocation.

That applies to basically everything. It is not for nothing that there is the bell curve of intelligence. Some brains are just not up to the task of learning and understanding.

2

RF, Microwave, Ham Radio / Re: Router roof antenna

« Last post by antenna on Today at 05:21:08 am »

Please explain the multi-antenna thing a bit more.  A phased array/beamforming would have all the antennas carrying the same data, merely time shifted a little, and should have the requirement that the antennas be properly oriented (presumably parallel to one another).

I've heard the router antennas should be oriented differently so it can switch antennas when the remote device antenna polarization changes, but that would interfere with the beam-forming theory.

Two different theories that, IMO, can't coexist.   Since they design the antennas to turn, I speculate that each antenna carries different data and beamforming is not the devices priority.  But if the function is to communicate simultaneously on more than one channel with a single client, can it also identify, and work in, situations where that is not possible?

I am wondering if I ran just one antenna to the roof, maybe a moxon aimed at the lake, if the router would detect communication only with that one antenna is possible and work to make the best of it.  Would that one antenna be enough for limited connectivity, or would it simply not work without all three?

3

Buy/Sell/Wanted / Re: FS: [US] Tektronix 191, Constant Amplitude Signal Generator

« Last post by BlownUpCapacitor on Today at 05:11:59 am »

price dropped by $40.

Also, any extension cable can be used to power this thing.

4

RF, Microwave, Ham Radio / Re: Router roof antenna

« Last post by antenna on Today at 05:04:52 am »

I was thinking about building a little box for it and installing the whole thing on the roof but our outdoor temps go from lows around-40°F in winter to highs of 105°F in the summer shade. Even with daytime variations I worry about solder joints cracking and caps leaking from the hot cold cycles.

5

Projects, Designs, and Technical Stuff / Re: How to intrepret the FT232HQ timing diagram?

« Last post by PCB.Wiz on Today at 05:04:38 am »

My question is, how long after the high-to-low transition of the WE# input it's safe to sample the TE# output to determine if the next byte can be written? 
I would think it's max(t6)+max(t7) but max(t7) is not given.

My reading is you can sample for a low from T6, which is max 14ns, or you could wait for TXE high, which has a min of 49ns, then look for =\_
The lack of a MAX T7 might depend on the host reading the part so it could hit ms on a slow PC  ?

6

General Technical Chat / Re: Sun tax

« Last post by aeberbach on Today at 05:03:19 am »

Your source is the worst tabloid garbage there is, the TV equivalent of National Enquirer. Don't believe any of it.

7

General Technical Chat / Sun tax

« Last post by vad on Today at 04:51:55 am »

So it looks like Aussie solar users will soon have to pay utility companies if they send too much energy back into the grid during peak hours. I assume by peak hours, they mean when the sun is shining and people are at work. What would be your strategy for minimizing the electrical bill? Getting a Tesla Powerwall? Running the A/C in an empty house? A kill switch? Anything else?

https://9now.nine.com.au/a-current-affair/sun-tax-set-to-charge-solar-panel-owners-who-send-excess-electricity-back-to-the-grid-at-peak-times/8bb2e8e6-feb8-4620-b1aa-806539e252de

8

Test Equipment / Re: DSOX2000 and 3000 series - licence , have anyone tried to hack that scope ?

« Last post by WSAYUN on Today at 04:51:49 am »

So, doing these patches for 2.42 and above, requires going through a bunch of steps, which you really just need to walk through yourself, to see how it all works, versus writing up an entire novel on here trying to explain it...

You need to follow the steps for unpacking the firmware file, de-compressing the 'nk.bin'  WindowsCE image, and locating the DLL within that image, you can just find it by using a hex editor, etc, and finding hex patterns...

As safar explained, the 'nk.bin' has checksums for blocks of data, so when you apply the patches into the DLL spots within the nk.bin (decompressed), you need to also fix the checksum for that block.  It's a standard 'checksum' algorithm, using single byte as input data (ie versus 16-bit, 32-bit etc 'symbols' for checksum), ie in Safar's post he called it 'UByte8Bit', as other programs tend to say that as well..


A trial one I found that makes it easy is the '010 Editor', it does that checksum calc, as well as many others..

If I were you, I'd download the 2.42 firmware, unpack it, and follow the info that Safar mention in his post... once you can understand what he did, and the locations he patched, you can do it to 2.43 as well....

Hi, yes I use IDA for find code and 010 Editor for patch.

I try to explain algorithm (with all steps as it can used by somebody else):
1. Get nk.bin.comp from FW file (ksx = cab) - I use WinRAR, but many arc programs can extract files from CAB.
2. Decompress nk.bin.comp by "bincompress.exe /d nk.bin.comp nk.bin".
3. Extract infiniiVisionCore.dll with Remaker for WinCE5.
4. Open dll in IDA and find asm code for patch - Sorry, but I don't explain how as it need to write lot info here.
5. With sync screens in HexView of IDA I look for patch hex code and for nearest area "signature" code also for find it in nk.bin (12..20 bytes for unique found result).
6. (As I lazy for remember bin structure I just to) Make DataTable with "viewbin.exe -d nk.bin > data.txt" - beware output file is very big - about 113 MB for 2.43.
7. Open nk.bin in Hex Editor and use "signature" code for find patch place (actually I use "find all" and if here is more than 1 result I try to expand "signature" for search).
8. Make patch in this place.
9. Open data.txt and find same "signature" - you found it in some Record [  ] block ([160] for 2.43). Here we need start Record signature for find it in Hex Editor, Record Length And Checksum (checksum is backwards in file as it LittleEndian code). Of course you can look for bin structure and make it more smart.
10. Find Record start signature - 4 bytes before start position is Checksum - compare it with data.txt (remember for back order). Here I bookmarked position.
11. Select block in editor with start on start Record position and Length from data.txt.
12. Calc checksum UByte8Bit.
13. Turn back to bookmark and correct checksum (4 bytes before start, and remember for back order).
14. Save as patched_nk.bin.
15. Compress it to nk.bin.comp by "bincompress.exe /c nk.bin nk.bin.comp".
16. Flash scope, but kill infiniiVision process before.
17. Reboot scope.

I attach all tools here

Thank you very much @Safar and @PhillyFlyers for your awesome work!   

I've went through the patch process myself according to your guide and got the same file (SHA1 hashed).

Flashed the ceimage1, adjusted the lnk-file and now it works on my DSOX2004A!   

Just in case someone is intrested my lnk-file for the DSOX2k :

Code: [Select]

88#infiniivisionLauncher.exe -l MSO -l BW20 -l DIS -l PLUS -l SCPIPS -l VID -l CABLE --perf
Based on the function names, which can be found in the .dll, those arguments should enable all options which currently work on the DSOX2k.

9

Beginners / Re: Analog multimeters, are they still useful?

« Last post by CatalinaWOW on Today at 04:20:52 am »

The demise of analog meters will not be because of what they can or can't do.  It will be because the economies of scale tip so far against them that they just will fade away.  Not enough volume to pay a single person who knows how to mount a hairspring, or load pivot bearings or all the other little fiddly skills that go into these.  They are close to manufacturing extinction already, almost all of the market is NOS, or used material.

10

Projects, Designs, and Technical Stuff / How to intrepret the FT232HQ timing diagram?

« Last post by zapta on Today at 04:10:26 am »

I am trying to interface an FTDI FT232HQ in asynchronous FIFO mode to an FPGA, datasheet here https://ftdichip.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/DS_FT232H.pdf#page=26 , and the relevant timing diagram is below.

The writing to the FIFO is done on the high-to-low transition of the WR# input. My question is, how long after the high-to-low transition of the WE# input it's safe to sample the TE# output to determine if the next byte can be written?  I would think it's max(t6)+max(t7) but max(t7) is not given.